Kukla's Korner Hockey

It was a given that the Rangers would buy out Brad Richards upon the conclusion of their Cup run. They needed to apply the 34-year-old’s annual cap hit toward their restricted free agents: Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Chris Kreider, and John Moore.

They did just that by saying goodbye to Richards, reclaiming the center’s money, and sending it right back out the door to Brassard (five years, $25 million), Zuccarello (one year, $3.5 million), and Kreider (two years, $4.95 million). They will re-sign Moore before the start of camp.

The rearranging of money ($6,666,667 in from Richards, $5.825 million for 2014-15 out to the three RFAs, with the difference earmarked for Moore) may be a wash. But it doesn’t mean the Rangers will be as good as they were last year. They’ll probably be worse.

The Rangers will always be competitive with HenrikLundqvist in goal. Ryan McDonagh will be a Norris Trophy finalist some day. Rick Nash is a puck-hungry behemoth. These are star players.